Perceived Benefits of Participation in the “Class of” Facebook Pages
Keywords:
Facebook, social media, matriculation, transition, first-year studentsAbstract
Given its popularity, institutions are looking for ways to capitalize on Facebook to market, recruit, and engage students during the admission and matriculation processes. One approach is the development of “Class of” Facebook pages for admitted students. This interpretivist case study explores first-year students' perceptions of participating in a regional research university's "Class of" Facebook page. Uses and Gratification theory is used to identify the student needs being met through the use of these pages. Findings included students' benefit from these pages by seeking information, learning normative behaviors and developing a sense of community.
References
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Ruggiero, T. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication & Society, 3(1), 3-37.
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Wandel, T. L. (2008). Colleges and universities want to be your friend: Communicating via online social networking. Planning for Higher Education, 37(1), 35-48.
Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2003). Mass media research: An introduction (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Barnes, N., & Jacobsen, S. (2012). Fish where the fish are: Higher-ed embraces new communications tools to recruit the wired generation. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, 12(1), 108-118.
Berg, B.L. (2007) Qualitative Research Methods for Social Sciences, 6th edition, New York, Pearsons Education Inc.
Birnbaum, M. G. (2013). The fronts students use: Facebook and the standardization of self-presentations. Journal of College Student Development, 54(2), 155-171. doi: 10.1353/csd.2013.0022
Bonds-Raacke, J., & Raacke, J. (2010). MySpace and Facebook: identifying dimensions of uses and gratifications for friend networking sites. Individual Differences Research, 8(1), 27-33.
Coyle, C., & Vaughn, H. (2008). Social networking: Communication revolution or evolution. Bell Labs Technical Journal, 13(2), 13-18.
Constantinides, E., & Zinck Stagno, M. C. (2011). Potential of the social media as instruments of higher education marketing: a segmentation study. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 21(1), 7-24.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage.
December, J. (1997, January). Notes on defining of computer mediated communication. Computer Mediated Communication Magazine, 4(1). Retrieved from http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1997/jan/december.html
Eberhardt, D. M. (2007). Facing up to facebook. About Campus, 12(4), 18-26.
Fewkes, A.M., & McCabe, M. (2012). Facebook: learning tool or distraction? Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 28(3), 92-98.
Giannakos, M. N., Giotopoulos, K. K., & Chorianopoulos, K. (2013). In the face (book) of the daily routine [Paper]. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/417859/In_the_Face_book_of_the_Daily_Routine
Greenwood, G. (2012). Examining the presence of social media on university web sites. Journal of College Admission, 216, 24-28.
Hayes, T. J., Ruschman, D., & Walker, M. M. (2009). Social networking as an admission tool: A case study in success. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 19(2), 109-124.
Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988). Alternate ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 508-521.
Jones, S. R., Torres, V., & Arminio, J. (2006) Negotiating the complexities of qualitative research in higher education. New York, New York: Routledge.
Katz, E., Haas, H., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). On the use of the mass media for important things. American Sociological Review, 38(2), 164-181.
Kelly, B. T (2003). Focus group interviews. In F. K. Stage & K. Manning (Eds.), Research in the college context: Approaches and method (pp. 49-62). NY: Brunner-Routlege.
Kruger, K. (2013). The new normal: Social networking and student affairs. Journal of College & Character, 14(1), 31-38.
Leung, L., & Wei, R. (2000). More than just talk on the move: Uses and gratification of the cellular phone. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77, 308-320.
Merriam, S. B. (2001). Case studies as qualitative research. In Expanding perspectives: Qualitative research in higher education (2nd ed.). ASHE Reader Series, 191-201.
Mertens, D. M. (1998). Sampling: Definitions, selection, and ethics. In Research methods in education and psychology: integrating diversity with quantitative & qualitative approaches. (pp. 253-283). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Noel-Levitz, (2012). The mobile browsing behaviors and expectations of college-bound high school students. An E-Expectations Trend Report. Retrieved from https://www.noellevitz.com/documents/shared/Papers_and_Research/2012/2012MobileExpectations.pdf
Park, N., Kee, K., & Valenzuela, S. (2009). Being immersed in social networking environment: Facebook groups, uses and gratifications, and social outcomes. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 12(6), 729-733. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2009.0003
Pempek, T. A., Yermolayevea, Y. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2009). College students’ social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(3), 227-238.
Pittman, L. D., & Richmond, A. (2008). University belonging, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment during the transition to college. The Journal of Experimental Education, 76(4), 343-361.
Priest, H., Roberts, P., & Woods, L. (2002). An overview of three different approaches to the interpretation of qualitative data. Part 1: theoretical issues. Nurse Researcher. 10(1), 30-42.
Qiu, L., Lin, H., & Leung, A. K. (2013). Cultural differences and switching of in-group sharing behavior between an American (Facebook) and Chinese (Renren) social networking site. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44, 106-121.
Raacke, J., & Bonds-Raacke, J. (2008). MySpace and Facebook: applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 11(2), 169-174. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2007.0056
Richardson, L. & St. Pierre, E. A. (2007). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (3rd ed.). Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials (pp.473 – 499). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ruggiero, T. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication & Society, 3(1), 3-37.
Shao, G. (2009). Understanding the appeal of user-generated media: A uses and gratification perspective. Internet Research, 19(1), 7-25. doi: 10.1108/10662240910927795
Student Poll (2009). Social Networking Sites and College-Bound Students. Retrieved May 15, 2014 from http://www.siia.net/visionk20/files/Social%20Networking%20Sites%20and%20College-Bound%20Students.pdf
Tosun, L. (2012). Motives for Facebook use and expressing “true self” on the Internet. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 1510–1517.
Wandel, T. L. (2008). Colleges and universities want to be your friend: Communicating via online social networking. Planning for Higher Education, 37(1), 35-48.
Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (2003). Mass media research: An introduction (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
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